Before I retired, I was paying $30,000 a year in state and federal income taxes. Both parties flushed that money right down the toilet. Obama's budget creates a $1.6 trillion deficit for 2011. The debt is over $14 trillion and climbing. The Feds (read taxpayers) pay $4 billion a week on that debt. The top 10% of earners pay 40% of income taxes collected. The bottom 45% pay NOTHING. The nation we owe the most money to, China, is suggesting the world stops using the USD as the standard. Our nations credit rating may soon be downgraded resulting in our paying higher interest rates on the money the Feds borrow. Currently, the Feds are borrowing 40 cents on every dollar spent. Obama said meaningful spending reduction will require reductions in nondiscretionary spending. That includes Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Unless you want your grandchildren living in poverty in a second world country, government spending must be reduced.

I totally agree with of you. The weird thing is that there was knowledge of this turmoil way back and nothing was done about it. It has been speculated that a one world currency is in the making and there will be a new world order. What happened to this country anyway? Seems like this superpower encountered some kryptonite.

The problem started decades ago. First with communists, then fascists, then socialists, then progressives, then liberals. All these combined are represented in the democrat party. Europe went socialist long ago. Now they're poor and struggling to meet the enititlement/welfare costs they promised. America used to be a country that thought individualism, independence, and self sufficiency were things to be admired. Now, we are an entitlement nanny state. Everyone expects the government to provide all their needs, without understanding that government's money comes from taxpayers.

If the rich were to return to paying the taxes that they used to before Reagan, then a big part of our money problems would be gone.

Because a large percentage of Americans live at or below the poverty level, thus pay no taxes, does not mean that they should be paying more taxes, you moron.

It's people like you, who are not rich, but do the bidding of the rich, that are killing this country.

The top income earners only pay 40% of the taxes? Why so little? They need to pay 90%

You are definitely part of the problem, not the solution.Curbing spending can help, but it not going to solve the problem, unless you want America to continue to lag behind the rest of world in education, etc.

Not much of the governments money comes from taxpayers anymore. It comes from China, Japan, and the Bernanke (federal reserve). The Bernanke creates money out of thin air simply by buying treasury bonds from the US government. Since QE2 the federal reserve owns as much of the federal debt as China. How many past presidents have cut income taxes to get people to spend more money for the sake of helping the economy? It's been going on for quite a while now.

"the richest Americans, those earning an average of $345 million in 2007, paid about 16.5 percent in federal income taxes."